Mixtape Blend

MIXTAPE BLEND

6.26.24

We're proud to welcome Mixtape Blend! Proceeds benefit 91.3 WYEP's mission of strengthening community through public media.

We’re excited to release Mixtape Blend, our newest year-long donation coffee presented in partnership with 91.3 WYEP.

Since 1974 (now celebrating their 50th anniversary), 91.3 WYEP has been Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania’s independent music source and a treasured cultural resource for all. On the air, online and in the community, WYEP champions musical discovery by supporting new and emerging artists while showcasing the region’s music community. Listeners tune in to WYEP because of the passionate and dedicated music lovers who deliver a hand-crafted listening experience spanning a broad range of genres and styles. Learn more by visiting wyep.org or by finding them on social media. WYEP is supported in part by the taxpayers of Allegheny County through a public grant from the Allegheny Regional Asset District (RAD).

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eclectic • unique • funky

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Commonplace Coffee Head Roaster Vikki Harris created this blend using the above descriptors, provided by WYEP. The blend features two coffees:

Aponte – a honey processed coffee from a village in Nariño, Colombia. This is a silky coffee with notes of strawberry and chocolate milk.

Akagera Ikizere – a washed process coffee from the Bushekeri Sector of Rwanda. This lot was produced by widowed and single women in the area. The coffee is acidic and tart, with notes of lemon and cranberry.

The two components in this blend come together like an album with no skips. Taste notes of cranberry, citrus, and cherry in Mixtape Blend.

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Interview with Joey Spehar, WYEP Morning Mix Host

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Commonplace Coffee: How long have you been with WYEP?

Joey Spehar: It’s hard to believe, but I’ve been with WYEP for almost 20 years now! I started as a volunteer in 2006 and soon after started hosting an overnight show. I eventually moved up to evenings and joined the staff full time on the morning show in 2012.

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CP: What is your favorite thing about working in public radio?

JS: I love the connections we make with our audience, and I love that we are encouraged to be creative and passionate with our work. How lucky am I that I get to share music with people every day? There’s nothing better than hearing from someone or meeting a listener who says that a song we played changed their day for the better. I’m a music fan first, so I understand that feeling and I know that it’s rare outside of places like WYEP.

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CP: Any upcoming projects or playlists that you are looking forward to sharing?

JS: I’m always excited to share music from the Pittsburgh community. There’s so much talent in this city, and I’m proud to be able to shine the spotlight on it all the time on the station. Make some time to check out the Pittsburgh Music Hour every Monday night at 9pm, check our website for features on Pittsburgh artists, and get out there and support your friends and neighbors making music here in Pittsburgh!

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CP: What have you enjoyed most about working together on this coffee release?

JS: I’m always curious about how other people work. What’s their workplace like? What kind of tools do they use? How do my favorite things come into existence and how many different people’s hands are involved in the process? So, getting to tour the facility where the coffee is prepped and roasted and bagged and brewed and thought about was truly epic for me. I’m such a fan of drinking coffee, but I had never seen it come to life before. Everyone we talked to was welcoming and generous and their excitement for what they do was inspiring!

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CP: We have to ask – what’s your favorite coffee beverage?

JS: I’m a simple, black coffee kinda guy! Don’t get me wrong, I can get down with a nice dry cappuccino or a fun and creative seasonal latte, but I just love the taste of regular old coffee so much.

I’m a coffee all day, everyday person, so I have lots of favorite coffee moments. Some are mundane, but all of them are special. I love a nice road trip coffee. I love the coffee I brew at home before work every day. I love having a hot cup of coffee after a couple cold beers, and I loved the coffees I’d drink every night at Eat'n Park in Bellevue before I was allowed to have a couple cold beers.

Most of all though, I love having some coffee with my brother Bob. We grew up working at our family’s gas station, so boring convenience store coffee will always hold a special place in my heart. We’ve spent a lot of time just sitting around and drinking coffee through the years, and I hope we can keep doing that forever.

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CP: If you had to pick a song to listen to while sipping this coffee, what would it be?

JS: It’s funny, because a couple of my favorite songs just so happen to be about coffee.

“Coffee Mug” by Descendents is 35 seconds of pure, caffeinated bliss. I love that song so much. On the other end of the spectrum, Bob Dylan’s “One More Cup of Coffee” is more of a brooding, slow burn with a nice fiddle part. I especially love the versions from the Rolling Thunder Revue tour in 1975. There’s also an amazing cover version by Frazey Ford.

But, if I had the opportunity to really sit down and get lost in the coffee and the music, I might go with the Grateful Dead doing a nice “Bird Song” from the Fall of 1972. The one they did in Philly that year is one of my favorite recordings of any song ever. Jerry plays through with a broken string, and it’s always a good reminder for me that, no matter who you are, life will throw obstacles at you. Sometimes a good cup of coffee can make it a little better.

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Commonplace Coffee would like to extend a huge thank you to 91.3 WYEP for the daily joy they bring to the Pittsburgh community. Please join us in supporting their cause by purchasing a bag of Mixtape Blend!

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